CAN’T YOU HEAR ME CALLIN’

A fine biography of the creator of bluegrass music.

Although well-known and appreciated by his Grand Ol’ Opry colleagues, artists of other genres were also enthusiastic fans of Bill Monroe and claimed him as a major influence on their careers. The list is diverse: Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Levon Helm (of the Band), Chris Hillman (of the Byrds), and Jerry Garcia, among others. Born in rural Kentucky to a musical family, Monroe quickly became a virtuoso on the then-lowly mandolin—the more “desirable” instruments having already been taken up by his older siblings. Starting out with his brother Charlie, also an accomplished musician, he eventually went off to form his own band, Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, from which the term “bluegrass music” was coined. Musician and music writer Smith points out that bluegrass is the only musical category whose “origins can be arguably credited to one man,” but he notes that while Monroe might have been its creator, the genre itself is an amalgam of “square dance fiddle tunes and modal ballads rooted in British Isle traditions, African-American blues, southern Protestant church harmonies, [and] Tin Pan Alley pop elements.” Monroe’s genius was the melding of these disparate elements into a uniquely American art form. A difficult man in private, Monroe was capable of holding a grudge for decades against those whom he thought had crossed him, but he was also unsparing when helping young musicians in his employ. Smith relates how Monroe flouted southern racism by hiring a gifted African-American harmonica player named DeFord Bailey, and in the way he elegantly ignored his hirelings’ objections. The author does a good job telling the story of this backwoods genius, but his writing is hardly scintillating, especially when describing music (e.g., “He could really hang onto a note and make it sing”).

The story of a truly American artist and his art are told in this well-researched and nicely presented volume. (16 pages b&w photos, not seen)